Asher was one of 12 sons of Yaakov our forefather. He was born to Zilpah, the maidservant of Leah, who was one of Yaakov's two wives. His only true sibling, from the same mother, Zilpah, was Gad. But all of the other 12 are his siblings because they are from the same father Yaakov. Those siblings are: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Yissachar, Zevulan, Yoseph, and Binyamin. There was however, one more sibing who most forget about (not counted as a Shevet), his sister Dinah. Asher was named by Leah, after he was born to Zilpah. She named him Asher (from the word אשיר, which means rich) because of her good fortune. The Ibn Ezer comments on Perek 30, Pasuk 13 in Sefer Bereishit (the pasuk that introduces his name): בעבור אשרי, for my [Leah] past fortunes.
Asher lived a very prosperous and wealthy life, and never lacked anything! Wow, I wish I was as rich as Asher!
The Torah does not tell many stories about Asher's life, but what it does tell us is that his name, which means wealth, defined his life. One story from Bereishit Rabbah 71:10, tells us that Asher never needed to stay at an inn throughout his business. This shows us that he did not need to travel in order to become wealthy. In Perek 49, Pasuk 20, when Yaakov gathers all of his 12 sons and gives each of them a blessing, he blesses Asher: "His bread will have richness and he will provide kingly delicacies" meaning that he will always be wealthy. One interesting story, in Perek 46, Pasuk 17, the children of Asher are mentioned, four sons and even a daughter, the first and only time a granddaughter of Yaakov is mentioned. Her name was Serach bat Asher and she is known for singing to Yaakov in order to calm him from the shocking news that Yoseph, after thought to be dead, was still alive. The information of this paragraph was found on:http://www.jewishtreats.org/2010/02/asher-son-of-jacob.html
FUN FACT: The Tribe of Asher, suprisingly, is known for "their daughters were beautiful and married to kings who were annointed with olive oil" (Bereishit Rabbah 71:10)
I enjoyed doing this project as it taught me more about the family of Yaakov, namely, Asher. The wiki made it much easier to organize the information I gathered and thoughts on The Tribe of Asher. I actually prefer to use the wiki, instead of worksheets. I did not work in class as I was absent on the day it was assigned so I can't judge how I used my time. However, I did the assignment at home and I worked efficiently, but I did the assignment late which I hope to improve on in the future.
Asher was one of 12 sons of Yaakov our forefather. He was born to Zilpah, the maidservant of Leah, who was one of Yaakov's two wives. His only true sibling, from the same mother, Zilpah, was Gad. But all of the other 12 are his siblings because they are from the same father Yaakov. Those siblings are: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Yissachar, Zevulan, Yoseph, and Binyamin. There was however, one more sibing who most forget about (not counted as a Shevet), his sister Dinah. Asher was named by Leah, after he was born to Zilpah. She named him Asher (from the word אשיר, which means rich) because of her good fortune. The Ibn Ezer comments on Perek 30, Pasuk 13 in Sefer Bereishit (the pasuk that introduces his name): בעבור אשרי, for my [Leah] past fortunes.
The Torah does not tell many stories about Asher's life, but what it does tell us is that his name, which means wealth, defined his life. One story from Bereishit Rabbah 71:10, tells us that Asher never needed to stay at an inn throughout his business. This shows us that he did not need to travel in order to become wealthy. In Perek 49, Pasuk 20, when Yaakov gathers all of his 12 sons and gives each of them a blessing, he blesses Asher: "His bread will have richness and he will provide kingly delicacies" meaning that he will always be wealthy. One interesting story, in Perek 46, Pasuk 17, the children of Asher are mentioned, four sons and even a daughter, the first and only time a granddaughter of Yaakov is mentioned. Her name was Serach bat Asher and she is known for singing to Yaakov in order to calm him from the shocking news that Yoseph, after thought to be dead, was still alive. The information of this paragraph was found on: http://www.jewishtreats.org/2010/02/asher-son-of-jacob.html
FUN FACT: The Tribe of Asher, suprisingly, is known for "their daughters were beautiful and married to kings who were annointed with olive oil" (Bereishit Rabbah 71:10)
I enjoyed doing this project as it taught me more about the family of Yaakov, namely, Asher. The wiki made it much easier to organize the information I gathered and thoughts on The Tribe of Asher. I actually prefer to use the wiki, instead of worksheets. I did not work in class as I was absent on the day it was assigned so I can't judge how I used my time. However, I did the assignment at home and I worked efficiently, but I did the assignment late which I hope to improve on in the future.